Planting our Roots

What a beautiful summer! I can't believe I haven't heard it more this year. I think we all got so used to complaining about the winter and then the rain this spring that we don't know how to be happy about the weather anymore! I can't think of one day that we have not been able to play outside or at least go for our evening stroll because of rain or heat or bugs. Last summer I felt so discouraged about this home. We had all this space but I couldn't enjoy it. Marek was still too little to explore too far out of my reach and Maggie was a tiny newborn. We couldn't get our mail without being attacked by mosquitos and ticks. There was so much work to be done and I couldn't do any of it with Matt overseas the entire summer. This year has been so much better!  With Matt's help, I started to see his vision for this place and we are slowly making it happen. For Mother's Day, Matt build our beautiful garden and every day it makes me feel so blessed and so happy; the gift that keeps on giving!! It really has required minimal maintenance thanks to the raised beds and the sprinkler system. We are finally starting to reap the harvest. Both Marek and Maggie love to pick and eat whatever I'll let them get their hands on. It truly does encourage healthy eating for children when they plant and pick the food with their own hands! Marek loves to help me in the garden and at the age of three, he finally is actually helping :)

I set my expectations low for the garden this year, unsure of how much time and energy I could manage to put into it. It turned out to fit almost everything that I wanted and even expanded into a blueberry and asparagus patch. We also planted a tart cherry and apple tree. Each year I hope to add more edible foliage to our property. I have harvested some nettles that grow like crazy here and we enjoy the few patches of raspberries that we find. I was really excited to find out that our property is also covered with wild filberts! I'm told that if we can beat the squirrels to them in the fall, we'll have quite the treat! The more we do, the harder it would be to ever move away from here.  We are planting our roots, quite literally!

 

I still have so much to learn about vegetable gardening but I am enjoying the pace at which I am learning and growing. Some day, I would love to have a large garden and a small inn where I prepare fresh meals from the garden year-round!

Matt has spent a lot of time getting the lawn up to par and although I've said in the past that I could care less about the status of my grass, I must admit that it makes our house look nice and it is great to be able to play in with the kids. He finally tore down an ugly lean-to next to our shed and used the free lumber to make some shelving in the shed, a super handy compost bin, and a super-sized sandbox for the kids! It was a mud box for a few weeks before we finally got the sand delivered. My favorite find of the summer was a sturdy old digger that I found on Craigslist and painted Marek's favorite color!

 

 

 

Matt's last trip home was absolutely packed full with projects around the house. We tag-teamed checking items off our list and playing with the monsters and barely spent much time together at all. It was nice to complete some items off of our wish list but sad to see him leave so soon, especially because we just got news that he will be gone extra long this hitch.  I feel like we have thoroughly enjoyed our summer and will have no regrets when the weather starts to change and all of our hard work gets covered in white!